PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union Geneva, 7 and 8 May 2009

	The IPU convened this parliamentary conference with focus on the unfolding global financial and economic crisis and on how the international community should react to it. The conference took place on 7 and 8 May 2009, in Room XVIII at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The invitation letter, registration form and practical information note were circulated to parliaments in mid-February 2009 and are also available on this website. The conference offered members of parliament an opportunity to be briefed by and interact with leaders of major economic and financial institutions with special responsibilities for addressing the crisis. The event included panels, parliamentary hearings, round tables and debates with the participation of senior representatives of the United Nations, the Bretton Woods Institutions, the G20 and others.

Updated on 18 August 2009
SESSION DOCUMENTS
	Summary records of proceedings	[English] [French]
	Closing statement by the President of the Conference, Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab	[English] [French]
	Speech at the inaugural session by the IPU President, Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab	[English] [French]
	Message of the United Nations Secretary General	[English] [French]
	Introductory video presentation by Mr. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University (USA)	[English only]
	PowerPoint presentation by Mr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development (United Nations)	[English only]
	PowerPoint presentation by Mr. Jan Kregel, Chief Rapporteur, Commission of Experts of the President of the UN General Assembly on the Reform of the International Monetary and Financial System	[English only]
	Transcript of the speech of Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, UNCTAD Secretary-General	[English only]
	Speech of Mr. Juan Somavía, ILO Director-General	[English only]
	Transcript of the speech of Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister of State (United Kingdom)	[English only]
	Transcript of the speech of Mr. Ben Turok, MP (South Africa)	[English only]
	List of participants	[bilingual]
	Programme	[English] [French]
	Background information document "G20 London Summit – Leaders' Statement"	[English] [French]
	Background paper "Key issues in the reform of the international financial architecture"	[English] [French]
	Background paper "The global economic crisis: the crucial issues"	[English] [French]
	Invitation letter	[English] [French]
	Practical information note	[English] [French]
	Note on the accreditation procedure	[English] [French]
	Registration form	[bilingual]
	Hotel reservation form	[bilingual]
	On-line hotel reservation through Geneva Tourist Office	[English] [French]
RELATED SITES AND DOCUMENTS
	Speech of the IPU Secretary General at the Sixth OSCE PA Economic Conference (Dublin, 27-28 May 2009)	[English] [French]
	IPU policy brief on the mobilization of parliaments as part of the global response to the financial and economic crisis (26 May 2009)	[English] [French]
	Official website of the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development (New York, 24-26 June 2009)	[English] [French]
	Outcome of the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development	[English] [French]
	Map of the United Nations Office at Geneva
	Recommendations of the Commission of Experts of the President of the General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System	[English] [French]
	Resolution of the 120th IPU Assembly "The role of parliaments in mitigating the social and political impact of the international economic and financial crisis on the most vulnerable sectors of the global community, especially in Africa"	[English] [French]
	Resolution of the 119th IPU Assembly "The role of parliaments in containing the global financial crisis and its economic impact, both on developing and developed countries"	[English] [French]
	Summary report on the Parliamentary Hearing held by the IPU at the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus (Doha, 28 November 2008)	[English] [French]
	Doha Declaration on Financing for Development	[English] [French]
Note: Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader

Updated on 8 May 2009
PROGRAMME
WEDNESDAY, 6 MAY
10:00 - 19:00	Registration of participants (United Nations Office at Geneva and IPU Headquarters)
THURSDAY, 7 MAY
08:30 - 18:00	Registration of participants (United Nations Office at Geneva)
10:00 - 10:40	Inaugural session
	Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, IPU President Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD
10:40 - 11:00	Introductory video presentation
	Cascading failures: the genesis of the crisis
	Mr. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University (USA)
Theme 1:	Macroeconomic policies to stimulate the global economy
11:00 - 13:00	Interactive panel discussion
	Creating jobs and warding off social recession
	Mr. Juan Somavía, Director-General, International Labour Office Mr. Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Professor of International Political Economy, Founding Director, The Evian Group
13:00 - 15:00	Lunch break
15:00 - 16:00	Question-and-answer session
	Finding a new path to stability and growth: conclusions of the G20
	Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister of State (United Kingdom)
16:00 - 18:00	Interactive panel discussion
	Mitigating the impact of the crisis on development
	Ambassador Ato Fisseha Yimer (Ethiopia) Mr. Paul Larsen, Director, External Relations Division, World Food Programme Mr. Ben Turok, MP (South Africa)
18:00	Reception at UNOG
FRIDAY, 8 MAY
10:00 - 10:30	Keynote presentation
	Gender aspects of the economic crisis
	Ms. Barbara Prammer, Speaker of Parliament (Austria)
Theme 2:	Reform of the international financial system
10:30 - 13:00	Interactive panel discussion
	Achieving financial stability
	Mr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Mr. Geir Haarde, former Prime Minister (Iceland) Mr. Paul Oquist, Senior Advisor for Financial and Economic Affairs to the President of the United Nations General Assembly
13:00 - 15:00	Lunch break
15:00 - 16:00	Thematic debate
	Principles of the reform: towards a new Bretton Woods?
	Mr. Jan Kregel, Chief Rapporteur, Commission of Experts of the President of the UN General Assembly on the Reform of the International Monetary and Financial System Mr. José Antonio Ocampo, Professor at Columbia University (USA), former United Nations Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs
Theme 3:	Elements for a parliamentary strategy
	The way forward
	Ms. Saumura Tioulong, MP (Cambodia)
17:50 - 18:00	Closing session

SESSION PHOTOS